The hard-knuckled race for attorney general remained too close to call Tuesday night, with Democrat Steve Bullock boasting an 8-point lead over his challenger, Republican Tim Fox.

As of press time Tuesday, Bullock claimed 54 percent of the vote, or 151,274 votes, compared with Fox’s 46 percent, or 131,220 votes.

Some 65 of Montana’s 863 precincts had reported results by press time, but some Republican strongholds like Gallatin County had not posted any results, according to the Montana Secretary of State’s office.

Reached at a Republican celebration in Helena, Fox said he was watching “real close” as the election results came in.

“We’re going in the right direction and narrowing that gap,” he said. “We’re winning in the places that we need to win and by the margins that we need. It’s looking real good at this point.”

Reached at a Democratic celebration also in Helena, Bullock said he was “encouraged by the results, so far.” “But I recognize there’s still a lot of the night left,” he said.

The race was one of the most expensive and hard-fought electoral battles of the 2008 campaign season. Both candidates stressed protecting children, with each producing child safety plans. Fox’s focused on predators who use the Internet to find young victims; Bullock’s plan focused on preventing crimes against children and making it easier to prosecute predators.

Both candidates came out strongly in favor of gun rights. Fox often attacked Bullock for being weaker on the issue, while Bullock stressed his stance on public access for hunting and fishing.

Bullock, 42, is a Helena lawyer with 14 years experience. He previously worked as a deputy under then-Attorney General Joe Mazurek. There, he defended Montana’s unique stream access law, an accomplishment Bullock stressed often on the campaign trail.

Bullock and his wife have three young children.

Fox, 51, is also a Helena lawyer with 21 years experience. He previously worked as lawyer with the Department of Environmental Quality, where he led the state’s first criminal prosecution against someone for breaking state environmental law.

Fox is married and has one daughter and three step-children.